Vegan Caesar Salad w/ Chickpea Croutons

I’ve been usually cooking two things to our Christmas table: a big salad and a dessert, usually a cake. This year I decided to take on more (eheee, why not?) and I’m taking on my grandmother’s classics and prepping the classic Finnish potato casserole and a sweet potato version of it (bye bye carrot and rutabaga casseroles!). And then of course I have to make the classic beetroot salad called ‘rosolli’, which a lot of people hate, but I loooove it. (These Finnish Christmas dishes sound very weird in English, please don’t judge us too much based on it :)). But even though all these comfort foods are so tasty and great on a winter day, I love to add some greens to the table too. I’ve been usually making a big green salad with lots of pomegranate seeds (and every year my face is covered with the juice, and so are my clothes..) but now I’ve got something a bit different to share. And I’m so excited about this recipe!

But back to this dear caesar salad of mine. I’ve been actually making this for years already, but haven’t got around to sharing the recipe on the blog. Sorry! The recipe is really simple actually and all you’ll need is 1) crispy romaine and some kale leaves 2) a creamy cashew-based caesar dressing, which really is creamy but not overly so (it’s very similar to the cashew cheese sauce I posted a while back). The sauce is great on any salad or as a dip for just some veggies too. Croutons made out of bread are a classic, but the chickpea croutons I made to top the salad are amazingly crispy. And so addictive! So before you know it, you’ve eaten half of them straight from the baking sheet. Or maybe it’s just me with the magical power of making things disappear before sitting down on the dinner table to eat. But whether you end up making the croutons or not, this salad is pretty tasty in itself too. Let me know if you end up trying it!

With these words and recipes I want to wish you all a relaxing and very delicious Christmas. And also have a shiny New Year! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and following. I can’t wait for 2018 and all the tasty times when can share together. Stay cozy and eat well! ♡

And hey! If you’re in need of some inspiration for the holiday table, you’ll find all of my Christmas recipes here.

Vegan Caesar Salad w/ Chickpea Croutons

notes: romaine salad and kale are my favorites for this but you can have other greens as well. also, if you’d like to make this a bit more meal-like, you could add some cucumber, broccoli and/or avocado.

1. Start by preparing the caesar dressing and the chickpea croutons so that they are ready when assembling the salad.

2. Rinse the romaine and kale if necessary and pat dry. Cut or tear the greens into a bowl. Add in some of the dressing and mix. You can serve the rest of the dressing on the side, so that everyone can add it as much as they like. Top the salad with the chickpea croutons. Serve and enjoy!

Vegan Caesar Dressing

notes: the dijon mustard is not a must, so if you’re not a fan of it you can leave it out. if you’d like to bring in some more of a classical taste to the dressing, you can add some miso paste or dried kelp, which have a “fish-like” taste to them.

1. Place the cashew nuts in a bowl, cover with water and soak for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Rinse and drain.

2. Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Start from a small amount of water and add as needed, depending on thick of a dressing you like. Store in a the fridge in a sealed glass jar.

Chickpea Croutons

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F degrees. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and dry them carefully with a kitchen towel.

2. Move the chickpeas to a bowl and add olive oil and spices. Mix well. Cover a baking sheet with baking paper and spread the chickpeas to the sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes until the chickpeas are golden brown and crunchy. Allow to cool for a moment before serving.

6 Comments

What a delicious and good-looking salad! Those chickpea croutons sound like the best topping for any kind of salad or even a buddha bowl. I recently made garlicky roasted chickpeas for a spanish food brand and since then can’t stop snacking on them! Here’s the picture if you wanna take a look at them. https://www.instagram.com/p/BccpSS1HHsW/?taken-by=gem_bcn

I just finished eating my salad with roast garbanzo beans, opened my email, and saw this recipe from you! :) Great minds think alike! I love the recipe for the dressing, I’ll have to try that next! Thanks for always giving us simple, delicious ideas to eat healthier. <3